Here are the prices of some key commodities traded in New York on Monday: Crude oil prices dropped 42 cents to close at $86.38 a barrel. Coffee prices fell more than 5 cents to end at $2.34 per pound. Copper prices dipped more than 3 cents to finish at $3.37 a pound. Cocoa futures slid […]
Israeli Families Attempt to Block Palestinian Prisoner Swap
Posted October 17th, 2011 at 3:20 pm (UTC-5)
Israel’s Supreme Court is set to hear arguments from Israelis opposed to a proposed exchange of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners for captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Lawyers representing Israeli families whose relatives have been killed in Palestinian attacks are making their case Monday in a last-minute legal attempt to block the swap with the Islamist […]
US Warship to Take Part in Joint Naval Drills With Georgia
Posted October 17th, 2011 at 3:10 pm (UTC-5)
A U.S. warship has arrived in Georgia’s Black Sea port of Batumi to take part in joint naval drills with the Georgian Coast Guard. The guided-missile cruiser, the USS Philippine Sea, arrived in Georgia on Monday. The ship’s captain, Herbert Hadley, says the crew will interact with the host nation on a personal level through […]
Cosmetics Heiress Loses Control of Her Fortune
Posted October 17th, 2011 at 2:45 pm (UTC-5)
A French court has decided that one of the world’s richest women, cosmetics heiress Liliane Bettencourt, is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and handed control of her business affairs to her daughter and two grandsons. The 88-year-old Bettencourt, whose late father Eugene Schueller founded the giant L’Oreal cosmetics company, is reportedly worth more than $23 billion. […]
Kenyans Win Six International Marathons
Posted October 17th, 2011 at 2:25 pm (UTC-5)
For the moment, at least, Kenya is the unchallenged champion of the marathon world after Kenyan runners won six international races over the weekend. Beginning Saturday, Kenyan men captured marathon titles in the United States, Canada, China, the Netherlands, South Korea and Turkey. In Canada, Kenneth Mungara won his fourth consecutive Toronto Marathon. At the […]
Iran Ready to Study Assassination Plot Allegations
Posted October 17th, 2011 at 2:05 pm (UTC-5)
Iran says it is ready to study U.S. allegations of an Iranian plot to kill the Saudi Arabian ambassador in the United States. The state-run IRNA news agency said Monday that Iranian Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi has urged the U.S. to present Iran with any existing documents in the case. Iran has denied the allegations, […]
Vatican Detains Supporters of Women’s Ordination
Posted October 17th, 2011 at 2:00 pm (UTC-5)
A group of Roman Catholic activists, headed by a U.S. priest who supports ordination for women, has been blocked from entering St. Peter’s Square. The Women’s Ordination Conference, led by American priest Father Roy Bourgeois, was stopped by police Monday and told to take down their banners supporting women as priests. When police confiscated the […]
US, Philippine Marines Launch Maneuvers in South China Sea
Posted October 17th, 2011 at 2:00 pm (UTC-5)
A large contingent of U.S. Marines has joined forces with their Philippine counterparts for two weeks of military maneuvers that include a mock hostile beach assault near a flashpoint island chain in the South China Sea. Pentagon spokesman Captain John Kirby described the annual maneuvers on Monday near the Spratly Islands as routine. Marines and […]
US Supreme Court to Hear Shell Nigeria Human Rights Case
Posted October 17th, 2011 at 1:50 pm (UTC-5)
The U.S. Supreme Court has decided to hear a dispute between Nigerian villagers and Royal Dutch Shell, in a test to decide whether international companies can be held liable in U.S. courts for human rights violations committed overseas. The high court justices agreed Monday to hear a federal appeal by a group of Nigerians who […]
Slovak Talks on Caretaker Government Fail
Posted October 17th, 2011 at 1:35 pm (UTC-5)
Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic and leaders of the country’s major political parties have failed to reach an agreement on an interim caretaker government to guide the country until early elections in March. President Gasparovic on Monday said new talks would be held on Thursday. Slovakia’s constitution mandates that the president dismiss the four-party coalition government […]
